In Kate Chopin’s “A Respectable Woman,” Gouvernail is presented as a mysterious character whose qualities we are only able to view through the eyes of the story’s main character, Mrs. Baroda. (Main Idea) The uncertainty begins at once, as Mrs. Baroda knows the facts of Gouvernail’s life, even though she has never met him, “this was a man she had heard much of but never seen.” (1st Supporting Detail & Example) The unknown Gouvernail seems unlikable, “she pictured him tall, slim, cynical; she did not like him.” (2nd Supporting Detail & Example) However, when she actually meets him, she likes him immediately, although “why she liked him she could not explain satisfactorily to herself.”(3rd Supporting Detail &Example) Gouvernail’s puzzling characteristics intensify as the story progresses. (4th Supporting Detail) His perfect courtesy and lack of desire for Mrs. Baroda’s “approval or even esteem” cause her great confusion and eventually attraction. (4th Example) Additionally, he is indirect in expressing his feelings toward her as he recites lines from Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself.” (5th Supporting Detail) Although he speaks to the beautiful night, she might wonder if he is also hinting at other, more suggestive lines in the poem. (5th Detail Example) His mysterious communication surprises Mrs. Baroda, causing her to leave the temptation he presents. (5th Detail Explanation) Although understated in word and deed, by the end of the story the question of Gouvernail's character is far less of a mystery.(Concluding Sentence)